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Best Of Toronto
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By: Liz Bruckner
Valentine's Day, birthdays, Fridays... As if you need a reason, here's our rundown of the best chocolate shops the city has to offer. Run, don't walk.
Chocolate Addict
185 Baldwin Street
(416) 979-5809
Leave it to Kensington Market to get kitschy with chocolate. Store shelves are jammed with goodies such as truffles, cocoa powder, squares, and mouth-watering chocolate sauce to name a few, and don't even get us started on the plethora of dipable options that abound (among them, Pringles and fortune cookies). Pop in for a mug of hot chocolate or a fair-trade chocolate bar - both rank high on the fan favorites list.
Delight Chocolates
3040 Dundas Street West
(416) 7600-9995
http://www.delightchocolate.ca
In a city of insipid - if not outright desperately-trying-too-hard - designer food shops, Delight Chocolates is a thing apart: effortlessly cool and fantastically sumptuous. When the earth supplies cocoa, these bakers supply delicious truffles. They also supply handmade organic and fair-trade chocolate, ice cream, cookies, and too many other delectable treats to name. Like its name suggests, a visit to this shop is a true delight.
Kakayo Chocolate Company
1584 Queen Street East
(647) 346-2936
http://www.kakayo.com
Like burgers and hot dogs, chocolate has gone through a gussying up of sorts with organic and fair-trade versions taking center stage. Another new development? The inclusion of chipotle peppers in cream bases - at least, that's the case where Kakayo Chocolate Company is concerned. Owner Colleen Wong-Sala spends painstaking hours perfecting her recipes and the effort keeps clients raving. Get 'em while the getting's good.
Swiss Master Chocolatier
2538 Bayview Avenue
(416) 444-8802
http://www.swissmaster.com
There's chocolate, and then there's Swiss chocolate. A household name among Toronto chocoholics, SMC reigns over a cocoa cottage industry, and with 60+ truffles to choose from, this shop's goodies serve as one of winter's saving graces, and should be consumed, like vitamins, in regular doses.
Stubbe Chocolate
653 Dupont Street
(416) 923-0956
http://www.stubbechocolates.com
The only thing better than eating a Stubbe-made truffle, cake, or cookie is making one of your own. Chocolate workshops for adults and kids are run on a weekly or monthly basis, and you walk away schooled in the art of chocolate production (not to mention a few products to consume). Minimal effort for maximum pleasure - our favourite kind of combination.
The Belgian Chocolate Shop
2455 Queen Street East
(416) 691-1424
Anyone who has tried to bake a serious truffle at home knows the truth about this intricate dessert favorite. It's time-consuming and fraught with all kinds of potential problems, so when you feel a hankering for the real, decadent thing, slip into this shop for a taste. Our favourite: the Grand Marnier truffle. Call for details.
Soma
55 Mill Street #48
(416) 815-7662
http://www.somachocolate.com
Chocolate consumption is practically a gourmet event these days. With that in mind, we highly suggest the chocoholics among you check out Soma. Set in Toronto's beautiful and historic distillery district, this little choc shop has some of the city's best offerings. Taste their amazing truffles and treats, and while you're there, have a nibble at their in-house café - their offerings are so delish you may end up taking chocolate treats to go.
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